Glengyle / Kilkerran Scotch whisky

1) Glengyle distillery was the very first Scotch malt whisky distillery to open in the 3d millennium.
(Well, provided you'd be willing to accept that Glengyle is actually a separate distillery. The fact that the address is exactly the same as that of the Springbank distillery suggests otherwise.)

2) The stills that are used in the new Glengyle distillery are second hand stills from the Ben Wyvis distillery.

3) The name of the Glengyle distillery was 'inspired by' (or copied from) an earlier Glengyle distillery. The first distillery by the name of Glengyle was built around 1873 by William Mitchell and closed in 1925.

4) More trivia about Glengyle may or may not be added later...

Ehm....

I'm afraid that I haven't tried any expressions of Glengyle and/or Kilkerran yet...

And that's all I can tell about Glengyle...

This was everything I can tell about Glengyles. However, if you'd like to learn more about whisky in general (and single malt Scotch whisky in particular), you might want to check out the Beginner's Guide to Scotch whisky (10 chapters filled with everything you need to fully enjoy
and appreciate a glass of single malt whisky) or the mAlmanac (sort of a rudimentary whisky shopping guide.)

Incidentally, this Glengyle distillery isn't the first one by that name in Campbeltown. Another distillery
by the name Glengyle was built around 1873 by one William Mitchell after a fight with his brother John at the Springbank distillery. It was closed again in the year 1925 - probably as a result of the prohibition in the United States. Glengyle was the first of many distilleries in Campbeltown to be closed; at the beginning of the third millennium only 2 distilleries remained - Glen Scotia and Springbank. Oddly enough, the single malt whisky that is now distilled at the Glengyle distillery will never be sold under
that name. The rights to that name belong to the Loch Lomond distillery now - also owners of the nearby Glen Scotia distillery by the way... That's
why the single malt that is distilled at the new Glengyle distillery be sold as 'Kilkerran'.

During the first half of 2003 the buildings were fitted with a mash tun, stills and a spent grains removal system (among other things) by the main contractor, Forsyth's of Rothes.
The mash tun arrived in April 2003 and according to Distillery Manager Frank McHardy the wooden washbacks (built by Arthur Brown of Dufftown) were in place by September 2003 - the heaviest part of the job was now done.

The rest of the necessary equipment (mill, dresser, dust extractor, cooling tower, pipework, condensers, milling system, electric supply, pumps & valves, etc.) was installed just a few months later and Glengyle
was officially opened on March 25, 2004
by Winnifred Ewing and Hedley Wright. The first 'whisky' (Kilkerran) wasn't bottled until 2007 - and it will probably be a while before it's widely available. The owners planned to release the first bottlings in 2012 (but so far I haven't seen it).

Those plans could have changed though... In the
summer of 2008 malt whisky lovers around the world were shocked by the news that Springbank and Glengyle would be temporarily closed down; at least until 2009. Not to worry - it seems they are 'live' again now...

Springbanks marketing philosophy trickled through in Glengyle's advance cask offer. The first six casks filled from the first spirit will be set aside to be bottled at 10 years old. All six
casks will be of different wood types. A limited number (obviously) of 700 bottles of each wood type will be bottled. You can pre-order a set of 6 bottles (one of each wood type) for the princely sum of £950 - including duty, tax,
etc. Because people who have pre-ordered will also receive a miniature set after five years, it seems they will have to select some big-ass casks if they want to have enough whisky to fill 700 (70cl?) bottles at 46% after 10 years.
If the miniatures are 5cl, that equals another 35 liters or 50 bottles. To fill those 750 70cl bottles they will need 525 liters of whisky at 46% in 10 years time. Most likely the whisky will have a higher proof than 46% ABV by
then, so they can add water to the whisky to increase the volume. Assuming the cask strength whisky has reached 60% after 10 years, they still would need more than 400 liters in each cask
in the series by 2014 - if my calculations are correct. Seems impossible... Well - mathematics was never my strong suit, so I have no idea...

Glengyle whisky

2002 - The buildings of the old Glengyle distillery (1873-1925) on Longrow in Campbeltown are restored.

2003
- The buildings are fitted with a mash tun, stills, etc. by the main contractor, Forsyth's of Rothes.

2004 - Glengyle becomes the first 'new' malt whisky distillery to be built in Scotland in the third millennium. On March 25, 2004 Glengyle distillery was officially opened by Hedley Wright and Winnifred Ewing.

2007
- The first whisky that was produced at Glengyle becomes available under the name 'Kilkerran'.

2008 - Production at Glengyle and 'mother' distillery Springbank is
stopped temporarily due to over-production.

Opinions are divided when it comes to the Glengyle distillery - is it an actual distillery or more like a 'dependance' of Springbank distillery? For the purposes of this 'DD' section, I'll treat it as a separate distillery.

The first Glengyle distillery was built in 1872 or 1873 by William Mitchell. He built Glengyle after a quarrel
with his brother John prompted him to leave Springbank. The new Campbeltown distillery operated for half a century, until it was finally closed in 1925. Finally? Well, apparently not, because around the start of the new millennium the Mitchell family (the owners of Springbank) announced their plans to rebuild Glengyle on the original site. The production buildings at Glengyle were pretty much restored by the end of 2002, so equipment could be installed.